India’s CEOs outline elements of #workplace2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and automation are the new game spinners, pushing the economies globally into the fourth industrial revolution. Workplaces are following this suit quickly and it seems the future of work and workplaces aims for a collaborative workspace where men and machines will be working together.

To understand the impact of technology on workplaces, JobBuzz (an employer ratings and reviews platform from TimesJobs) organised one-day long HR conclave aptly titled ‘JobBuzz Workpalce2025: Technology, Talent and Transformation Conclave 2018’ on May 4, 2018. This event started with a working breakfast session for CEOs which packed a few punches as well.

The thoughtful dialogue between these industry stalwarts discussed the opportunities and the challenges for leaders in terms of hiring, making workforce management strategies and upskilling. Excerpts here:

Gautam Sinha, CEO, Times Internet: “Nothing is absolute, and we continue to evolve. AI and automation will eliminate the entry-level jobs that are repetitive in nature. Organisations will have to be flexible with their workforce. At an individual level, we need to be agile and continue to upskill and rediscover ourselves to stay relevant in such a disruptive environment”.

Pankaj Dubey, CEO & Director, Polaris: “As leaders, we need to ensure the adaptability to change, and have a genuine concern for our workforce. In the age of technology and IoT, we are ignoring the human touch, which is going to drive everything forward. The element of personal touch needs to be given utmost importance”.

Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO, Randstad India: “The current generation is digitally savvy and keeping them engaged is a big challenge for companies in today’s time. To manage the current workforce organisations should use technology as an enabler rather than a disruptor”.

Suman Reddy Eadunuri, MD & Country Head, Pegasystems: “AI is going to be a refutable change. Humans will be there for empathy and emotional quotient but machines will take the lead in decision-making processes. Based on predictive analytics machines will guide humans”.

Ashish Khanna, MD&CEO, Tata Power Solar, “ The top executives too need to reskill themselves because the jobs of CEOs are is at stake. With continuous changes coming in because of technology, it is important to stay relevant and gaining specialisation is the only way out”.

Bhavdeep Singh, CEO, Fortis, “Technology is driving disruptions across industries, but in reality, it is an enabler. With the unprecedented growth of technology, the future is unpredictable. The brands which are operating today will not exist five years down the line certainly; the future will be about machines or something else for which we are unprepared”.

Rahul Parikh, CEO, Bajaj Capital, “Technology, regulation and social behaviours are changing constantly. Hence to stay relevant in the VUCA world, we need to continuously evolve and adapt. The debate for ‘tech (machines) or touch (human approach)’ needs to get replaced by ‘tech for touch’, thereby enabling humans to do their best at what they are good at”.

Bhupesh Daheria, CEO, Aegis “Machines are augmenting the capabilities of human beings, but humans remain at the core. We need to make them more intelligent, companies need to invest more in building up the cross-functionality and the human touch needs to be there”.

After the conclave, the CEOs found sometime out for a mandatory group selfie: